(CNN) - Democrat Kathy Hochul swept to victory Tuesday night in a closely watched Congressional election in New York state, which turned into a proxy battle on a House Republican proposal on Medicare.

The race in New York's 26th Congressional district was to fill the seat of former Republican Congressman Chris Lee, who resigned over pictures and e-mails of him trying to find a date on Craigslist.FULL POST

(CNN) - Anticipating a very close race, the Republican candidate in New York's special election has put the wheels in motion for a potential hand count of certain ballots in the already-contentious race.

Jane Corwin's campaign filed a petition Tuesday and received a court order impounding all paper ballots pending a court proceeding that will begin no sooner than Thursday. The order doesn't impact the tally of votes cast by machine, but does protect the estimated 3,808 paper absentee ballots that could be key if the results show a narrow margin for either candidate.FULL POST

LONDON (CNN) - President Barack Obama's toast to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday was interrupted when the orchestra at the state dinner began playing "God Save the Queen" before Obama finished.

Following the queen's toast to him and the playing of the U.S. national anthem, Obama began his toast by thanking her and commenting on her reign and the close ties between their countries. The president then asked the guests to stand and join him in toasting the queen.

(CNN) - The House Appropriations Committee approved an additional $1 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday to ensure the agency has enough resources to cover disaster response efforts in Missouri and in other states recently hit by natural disasters.

Alabama Republican Robert Aderholt, who chairs the spending committee's panel that oversees FEMA's budget, pressed for the additional money to be added to the bill funding the department for the upcoming fiscal year.

(CNN)– A former aide to Sarah Palin slammed the ex-chief executive in the scorching new tell-all, "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of our Tumultuous Years," out Tuesday.

Frank Bailey, who began working for the former governor of Alaska during her successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign and stayed through her failed bid for vice president, told CNN that he was "terrified" of the potential for her to become the nation's second-in-command.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Federal accident investigators admitted Tuesday they don't really know what caused the deadly crash in Alaska last year of a plane carrying former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. The longtime Republican was among five people killed, including the pilot, who was taking a group to a fishing camp in the rugged Alaskan terrain.

The best guess from the National Transportation Safety Board points to 62-year-old Terry Smith, an experienced pilot who knew the area well.

Washington (CNN) - The exact timing of a Senate vote on a resolution to back U.S. military action in Libya is not decided, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday, adding the vote would not come this month.

Specifically, he said the vote would not happen before the Memorial Day recess, which begins when senators leave this week and is scheduled to run through June 5.

Washington (CNN) - The face of drug addiction has changed, and the government is working to adapt.

The 21st-century drug addict is more likely to get a fix from a medicine cabinet than from a needle. More than 5 million Americans misused prescription painkillers in a one-month period in 2009, according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health from that year.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - House Republican leaders have scheduled a vote next week to raise the debt limit without any spending cuts attached in order to demonstrate that a so-called "clean extension" preferred by President Barack Obama and some congressional Democrats cannot pass in the GOP-majority chamber.

According to several aides, GOP leaders announced the move Tuesday at their regular weekly meeting with rank and file Republicans.FULL POST